The strange metal state represents a fundamental unsolved puzzle in condensed matter physics, intricately linked to the mechanisms behind high-temperature superconductivity, strong electron correlation effects, and many-body quantum entanglement phenomena near quantum critical points. This state is prevalent in strongly correlated electron systems, including high-temperature superconductors, heavy fermion systems, and magic-angle graphene. Despite its widespread occurrence, the microscopic physical mechanism underlying strange metals remains elusive, with conventional Fermi liquid theory failing to account for their anomalous electrical properties. Unraveling the intrinsic mechanisms of strange metals promises a pivotal breakthrough in the study of high-temperature superconductivity and quantum critical phenomena.

Recently, Professor Chen Jianhao of Peking University, in collaboration with Academician Xie Xincheng, Assistant Professor Huang Huaqing, and Distinguished Associate Researcher Liu Shaobo, along with Associate Researcher Fang Yuqiang from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Professor Liu Haiwen from Beijing Normal University, has achieved a significant breakthrough in the study of quantum geometric nonlinear transport in strange metals. Focusing on the 2M-WS₂ topological superconducting candidate material, the research team observed, for the first time in a centrosymmetric strange metal system, quantum geometry-induced anomalous chiral transport and hidden symmetry breaking phenomena.

The experiments revealed an abnormal enhancement of the Nernst effect within the temperature range where the material transitions from a Fermi liquid to a strange metal. The Nernst coefficient significantly exceeded theoretical predictions, rivaling the vortex Nernst signal intensity observed in copper-based high-temperature superconductors. Leveraging high-precision micro- and nano-fabrication techniques and strong magnetic field second-harmonic nonlinear transport measurements, the team directly confirmed the presence of hidden symmetry breaking in the system and detected anomalous electromagnetic chiral anisotropy.

Theoretical analysis and first-principles calculations suggest that this anomalous behavior stems from non-trivial quantum geometric effects. Specifically, orbital magnetic moments near the Fermi surface play a dominant role during the phase transition, while subtle spatial inversion symmetry breaking caused by interlayer local slippage provides the necessary physical conditions for the emergence of quantum geometric effects. This discovery paves the way for a new research direction in understanding the fundamental mechanisms of strongly correlated physics in strange metals and high-temperature superconductors.